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2014.03.13 - (Not) One of Olli's
Robyn had been on the lookout for a supplier of hunting equipment in the yellow pages after her arrow supply is kind of limited with her stressed situation, and thus had to do her search in a hurry. So instead of reading the page fully, she just had to skim over each of the pages and instead of reading the entire as it was as Sherwood Florist, she had read it as Forrest, which sounded to her reasonable enough to be a shop that sells bows and equipment. Rustling through the streets on foot she ended up at the location she read in the pages... and realizes she mixed up a few letters. Flowers, not Bows. Seems not to be Robyn's day. thinking about turning around she spotted a police car down the road, and instead of trying to pass it unnoticed - with her luck the last time she tried they would stop and ask her for the ID - she opened the door to the shop to at least pretend to take a look - or possibly even find something. Wild Rose would make quite good shafts, more durable than hazelnut saplings, but a bit more work. Glancing over the offered flowers however she spotted none that would seem fitting at first glance. ---- Dinah Laurel Lance has not been alright, but most people would have a hard time realizing that by looking at the blonde woman. Standing by some flowers in her shop the heroine idly tends to them, clad in dungarees and a long-sleeved white blouse underneath, her careful hands protected by gloves as to avoid thorns. With practiced ease Dinah gets her shop in order, although her eyes are distant, thoughts back on the weeks of drinking poisoned water, of being attacked in her own home, of yelling at Ollie and being hunted down by the Maggia. Still, when the little bells over the door ring, that blonde ponytail swishes behind her head as Black Canary turns to the door, the dulling in her reflexes only noticeable by top notch martial artists, her gaze setting on Robyn, a light frown on her features at the obvious scar the woman has: with that thing, Dinah feels like she has every right to be suspicious, but still, she summons up a fake but reliable smile. "Welcome to the Sherwood Florist. Looking for anything specific?", her eyes roaming over Robyn's form to read more about the woman before outright asking, trying to gather info on the stranger. ---- Barbara Gordon gets out of a cab that pulls up to the curb, searching her handbag briefly to pay the cabbie, before she steps up onto the curb and takes a quick assessment of the street. As the cop car passes, she actually gives a small smile and raises a hand in greeting to one of the officers within. They do know the Commissioner's daughter after all. Most of the cops in the city do. At least by sight. As the car pulls on, she angles toward the flower shop and reaches for the door slowly closing behind the strawberry blond. She hears Dinah's voice greet the other woman, and knows her best friend well enough to catch subtle nuances in her tone that she can catch the faintest edges of stress there. After all, they talk to each other more often than they actually see each other. Babs knows Dinah's voice better than she knows a lot of other things about the woman, despite their close friendship. Thus, as her friend greets the other woman, Barbara's head cants lightly and she raise a hand in silent greeting to her friend. There's a shadow in her own eyes, today... but one Dinah probably understands, given recent events and news. She hangs back nearer to the entrance of the store, letting Dinah deal with the other woman -- which means she doesn't see Robyn's face, herself, just yet. ---- The bells over her head drew the instant attention of Robyn, the head tilting a bit to get it into the sight of her good eye before she could stop the motion which spoke of a similar tension as the one that Dinah stood under - only that it was not a poisoning and dulled reflexes that caused them, but continuous pressure by having to evade police and FBI to keep her trail somewhat covered. During the greeting she steps a bit further into the shop, glancing over the offered flowers with a quite cold look, as she had been searching for something entirely different. "I'm not really sure. Some flower with a quite thick and durable stem... you happen to have such?" Robyn asked, glancing to Dinah with a turn of the head, at least halfway getting her destroyed eye out of the looks - before having to suppress a trained reflex to turn on a sound behind her to get a look at whatever it is, showing Dinah the destroyed eye fully and Barbara the face head on - which was likely the worst situation she could be in, facing two hardened heroines while not knowing so. ---- Dinah is an experienced crimefighter, and she has been at odds with the law a few times: not because she was ever a criminal, but vigilantism, even in Gotham, is not yet sanctioned by law. As such, the girl's twitchy movements, the pressures Robyn feels and the way of looking over her shoulder? Those quickly earn Canary's attention, even if she just looks a bit surprised, almost amused. It is obvious this girl isn't an experienced assassin, so there is no way the Maggia are low balling her by underpaying newbies, and she seems awfully unaware of Dinah's abilities, which is in itself almost endearing. Is she yet another prodigal child of Ollie's? "I'm afraid I don't have those... we sell flowers for decorations, as gifts for Valentine's Days, weddings. Not exactly the kind you are looking for. But I do have a few that would match your eye very well.", she says with a serious but friendly tone, hoping to get the girl off-balance by mentioning her sole eye. When Barbara arrives Canary's eyes flare up slightly, her lips threatening to curve into a wide, wide smile. Just seeing the redhead makes Dinah's heart beat a bit faster: it is that good to see Babs again. Still, she just smirks, nodding at her, and beckoning her friend closer. Barbara will notice Dinah's gaze lowering to her legs, still happy for the woman, still amazed. Although she feels like hugging the other woman tight, Canary knows that affection is better reserved for privacy, and worst yet, that even in the Florist she might be under surveillance. ---- Oh, Babs will be quick to assure Dinah that the only surveillance happening in the shop is what she, herself, has allowed to remain for her own sense of peace of mind about her friend's well-being. She and Dick went over the place with a fine-tooth comb not so long ago. But, she may not have had time to reassure her friend of that. As the other redhead turns, however, Barbara's eyes automatically scan her face. She blinks, eidetic memory recalling the woman's face from GCPD and FBI wanted profiles. Her mind automatically catalogues the 'crimes' for which the woman is wanted as well, allowing her some idea of how dangerous she may be. Babs is not, however, given to random displays of heroism when there are other, more oblique, ways of dealing with a situation. Thus, whatever recognition may have been there fades from her eyes and she gives an impersonal smile in greeting, moving a little closer to the counter and, thus, to Dinah. She returns Dinah's smile, however, noting the flick down to her legs. Even she still marvels about it. It's only been since Christmas, after all. And the last time she saw Dinah in person, it was to detox her from the hallucinogenic before Oracle and Nightwing went through Dinah's properties with that aforementioned finetooth comb. "Hi, D," she greets her friend, giving Robyn a simple, courteous nod of greeting as she does. ---- Well, calling Robyn a prodigal child of the Green Arrow would be an exaggeration, though she had teamed up with him once and hassled with not only one but two of the arrow families members in the past. But untrained was something that didn't fit her description - she had led a rebellion once (though luckily for Robyn not on the earthen plane) and killed people in revenge for what they had did to her. Besides that, Barbara would easily remember quite some petty theft, stealing a car for reckless driving which ended in her first time in jail and the lost eye. Atop of that: one FBI Agent stabbed with a sword, but that one only Robyn and the dead agent as well as the real killer knew was framed on her. The comment about the eye almost instantly drew the healthy eye back to Dinah, with a look that might be a bit harsh for it was a remembrance of the actions Chris King had done. "Blue or Gold?" How did she come to gold from? But thinking about flowers, she might as well place a few on the grave of her adoptive mother. "A single red rose with fern around it and a fir twig? you happen to have that? Also 5 black roses, no decoration." The later for the graves of the guys she ended. ---- Dinah listens to Robyn's requests, her eyes still to the girl's, that ferocity not unlike she has seen in Helena before. A brief gaze over Barbara makes it obvious Canary knows something is up with this woman, but as usual, information is a one-way street with her best friend. "Sure, sure. I think I have just what you need.", her lips curled into a smirk, as she goes about checking on the best flowers for Robyn. Between snagging a bunch of black roses, and moving to the red ones, Dinah passes by Barbara, smiling at Oracle and nodding. "You look great, Babs. Love this new look.", her words obviously aimed to her unwheeled look, before bumping shoulders with the woman, holding back her impulses before she gets all the criminal girl ordered over the counter to start arranging it. "Are you from around here?", she asks the mysterious presence, peering over her shoulder at Robyn, giving her back because she knows Barbara is there. ---- "Thanks," the redheaded Gothamite says to her friend. "So'm I." Still, as far as Barbara is concerned, the scarred woman before them is a murderer. Worse than that, she's effectively a cop-killer. Thus, when Dinah turns her back, Babs leans casually against the counter, not going anywhere. She does, however, blink in what appears to be mild surprise and startles as if she's heard something in the bluetooth cellphone earpiece that is always in her ear. Tapping it once, she says, "Hello? Oh. Del. Hi. Yeah. I got that for you. Hang on. I'll send you a text with it." Giving the other two women an apologetic smile, she moves further along the counter, away from Robyn's reach, and takes out her phone. Her fingers tap swiftly over the screen, before she hits sent. "There you go, Del. Thanks." As she tucks her phone back away, across down, DELPHI, Oracle's own AI, begins pulling up the most up-to-date information on the scarred woman to send to the tech lenses in Barbara's glasses so she can focus on the details she may not have read before -- the circumstances of the agent's murder, reports from the scene, descriptions of the perpetrator's actions... the whole nine yards. Even as the information scrolls invisibly before her eyes, DELPHI's smooth voice sounds in Dinah's ear through the receiver in her earrings, volume low enough that only the Canary will hear... and Barbara, of course, since it also links through her bluetooth. "Oracle," the AI says in her smooth, cultured tone, "says to inform you that the woman at the counter is wanted by the authorities." She then proceeds to outline the same information Babs is seeing on her HUD. The girl's name, a list of her crimes, the circumstances surrounding them... the whole nine yards. It's an info dump, to be sure. But DELPHI is good about being succinct enough that Dinah should be able to follow it, while the more specific details are sent to Babs' lens HUD. Given the phone call is done, however, Babs drifts back to where she had been before, looking at a couple of the nearby displays. She actually did come here for a purpose, after all. She needs to send Pepper some flowers. ---- The single eye of Robyn follows the movements of the two as much as possible, but the question is taken with a bit of careful judging. "Kind of... Some graves need those." Robyn answered with an undertone, telling that she best should not pursue the question on which it was. Mostly it was true - she had been grown up in New York’s worst parts, went through New York’s Youth Care, ended in a New York state prison, vanished somehow from there for a year to commit a spree of five and then reappear in the middle west and end once more in a state prison, this time a high security one. Glancing over the shop again, Robyn searched in her pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills, three tens and two twenties, all crumpled and very likely contaminated with drugs, as she had got them from a drug dealer she had busted the kneecaps of with his own baseball bat. "Do you deliver? I can note you where they should get brought." She knew that she shouldn't appear at the graveyards that she was tied to - they might be watched for her. ---- Dinah's eyes dart to the side as DELPHI's voice whispers to her ear, suddenly jerking in place, startled. Technology and Dinah Laurel Lance do NOT go along, and for a moment there Canary just mutters a curse at how her heart has gone off from a simple scare. She needs to get a grip. With trembling hands the blonde lets a flower fall over the counter, unable to control her nerves for a second. And all the while DELPHI won't stop talking, and the more the AI speaks, the more those eyes of Dinah's go wide. That girl, the girl buying roses and acting as suspicious as one can possibly act, is a cop killer? It makes way too much sense, but something doesn't quite fit with Black Canary. Her alarms didn't go off at Robyn's presence, although she did let out a spooky vibe. She is either more broken than she thought, or this girl is a very naive mouse that has just walked into a lion's den. She turns to Robyn in time to get her money, looking down at the crumpled notes. More signs of a messy life. Her eyes focus on Robyn's sole one, more mercy there than in Barbara's: she has dealt with many youngsters who didn't know any better, many people who could have done more in life. She is looking for anything there that police records might not know, because she knows there is a very capable Comissioner's daughter besides them that would be all too willing to make this bust. And what's worst? Dinah right now is unsure as to wether she should allow Babs to go on with it or not. She peers at Robyn. "Why did you ask for those specific, thick stemmed plants?", something on DELPHI's words making it seem like there is a connection to it. ---- Babs isn't really in the habit of making citizen's arrests in civilian form. She's not above calling Dick, though. He actually is a cop, after all. But, she knows her friend. She knows what's behind those questions. ~ Don't get too soft, Dinah... ~ The thought goes unvoiced, but the soft sigh that accompanies it doesn't. Not that it's a very big one, mind. No, it's tiny. More 'here we go again' than 'oh, for crying out loud'. She pushes off the counter and slowly makes her way along the floral displays that adorn the far aisle where the refrigerator unit stands. She's still looking for something appropriate to send to Pepper for whatever memorial is made for Tony Stark. And it doesn't hurt to put some distance between herself and the pair. If Dinah's going to do this... one of them needs to be free to move. She takes out her phone and sends a text message. In Dinah's ear, DELPHI speaks again. "Relaying a message from Oracle." The AI then mimic's Oracle's digivoice for effect. "Cop killer, Dinah. She wants you to go to the graves instead of her. Don't get implicated." ---- As Dinah jerks her head to listen to the AI and the rose falls, the brow above the healthy eye of Robyn narrows, suspecting she had been found out about. What the records not tell, are some reasons - that Chris King ad his friends did unspeakables to her, that Chris cut out her eye with the shard of glass, that his father paid to cover it up, that the sheriff she shot was corrupt and the two maimed cops had been silent for more than a year while she had rotten in jail after a farce trial and had to fight for her life in some strange world. And last but not least, that she had been framed for the FBI. That she even did never used a sword on earth, as that was the weapon with which the Agent had been killed. Some of that might be visible in the eye, in which seemed to gather a tear for a moment, but that was sole for the only one that was good to her ever - her mom. Grabbing a piece of paper from the counter she noted a few items - one graveyard and a number. One grave about 40 miles north of New York, on the graveyard of a monastery. The other was marked with a 5 and belonged to a department in a township not too far away, and the name of two cops, those she maimed. Handing the note to Dinah with the money she had no sign of the tear anymore in her eye. "The Roses? Messages to the past. The general request? I need to build something." In case of a fight she would be at a disadvantage - no bow and arrow with her, and neither had she a weapon with her. She might throw some items that stood around, but those were not really wildly. ---- That sigh. Dinah looks at Barbara, narrowing her gaze, accusingly, lips pursed, just a tiny hint of a smile there. She just can't help it, looking at Babs is just joyful, EVEN when she is just standing there like a skeptic. They are friends with Helena Bertinelli of all people in the world, why is it that they shouldn't give a chance to others? Seeing Barbara's face makes Dinah search all that more for something redeemable about Robyn, and that is when the girl tears up. Oracle will be able to notice the moment Dinah's heart almost drops off her mouth, those eyebrows furrowing subtly, lips pursed, pity in her gaze. It's the kind of tear that Dinah knows, the ones that even the most stoic people cannot help but to let out. It fought it's way out of this one-eyed girl, and almost looking upset, Dinah reaches for a handkerchief in her pocket, handing it to Robyn. She knows it's not much and that the girl might be one of those tough ones that like to keep the appearances, but sometimes kindness goes a long way. "I'll deliver them. What's your name again?", she asks, taking some advantage of the moment she is handed the addresses to touch Robyn's hands, looking for calluses or wounds. ---- From where she is... Barbara misses that tear. She does, however, hear her friend clearly ignore her message. The soft sigh that escapes her, now, very much is 'oh for crying out loud'. But, it's still quiet. She's not trying to attract attention. Still, if Dinah's going to do this? Babs eyes fall on a planted cluster of stargazer lilies, and her shoulders fall. She picks it up and brings the pot toward the counter, setting it down. Then, she picks up one of those note cards that always go with such things, find a pen, and writes: 'In memory of the man who helped me stand on my own again.' The same man, she realizes, who took in a stray whose powers threatened to destroy everything she touched -- the girl Babs met just before word of Iron Man's death reached them, before Babs saw the video playback of the killing blow. She takes off her glasses, pinches her nose briefly, and puts the glasses back on. The looks she gives her friend isn't one Dinah will have seen often. But, it's clear. She surrenders. She'll help Dinah with this. For now. Don't expect it to last, if she finds out the girl is playing them. For now, though, Robyn is very, very lucky... ---- It's the left with which Robyn had handed the money, but as she places back the pen with the right, Dinah might easily discover, that both hands index and middle finger carry sighs she might know very well from Oliver's hands. Only that not just the right but both hands had the signs of pulling the string of a quite heavy bow. The hankerchief she looks on for a split second puzzled, realizing that Dinah probably spotted the human reaction. Then the moment is over, the hankerchief still in the Black Canary's hand. "Thanks, but it's ok." Taking a longer look on Dinah and then letting the single eye wander over to the sighing Barbara, then looking back to Dinah "The two will know that I sent them, but it's Robyn." Just like in the tale... and the file Oracle had sent. If it was luck? Hard to tell, because even if Robyn had had luck in her life - in all cases it had turned against her. ---- Dinah hears the groaning, but she is positive Barbara would change her mind if she saw this girl's face. Who wouldn't give it a second thought? Had she ever seen Penguim or Killer Croc shed a tear out of nowhere? For all her zealotry, Dinah knows Barbara is a kind hearted woman, and more than that, fair. Although the blonde picks the sorrowful undertones in Babs' face when she looks at the stargazer lillies, she says nothing. Tonight seems to be shaping like a girl's night in. Still, focusing on the problem at hand, Dinah looks back at Robyn, one of her hands reaching to Barbara's arm to gently caress her friend, reassuringly. She is not made out of stone, after all! Canary seems to be at ease around the apparently cop killer, mostly because of the girl's apparent beginner's mistakes and overall street-toughened disposition. And then there are the marks on her fingers. Of course there would be bows and arrows involved. Every messed up kid she knows are involved with those. Canary loses her composure for a split of second to grip Robyn's hand, her thumb over those marks. "Thick stems, huh?", she says with a half-smirk. It's amusing how ghetto the starting 'Arrows' got when making their stuff, but rose stems? This must be a new thing. "Robyn, was it? Care to explain it to me very carefully how you got those? Did anyone teach you?". Did Green Arrow teach you? Because it's SO like Ollie to charm people into his lifestyle and leave them to fend off for themselves. With a grim sigh, Dinah just looks at Robyn, more serious now. "I mean you no harm, Robyn, but... you seem like you are in an awful lot of trouble." ---- Babs gives Dinah a tight smile at the caress. "Let me know what I owe you, when you get a chance," she tells her. Business is business, and Babs doesn't tend to try to get freebies from her friends when it comes to business. Though she has been known to barter. The fact is, though, dealing with Robyn is probably better left to Dinah. She understands these 'arrow types' better. Barbara does know how to deal with people with bloody histories. (Cass Cain. Damian Wayne.) And she understands the need for forgiveness. But right now? She's not the right one to try to mentor the fugitive girl. Dinah's got a better background for that. Barbara will always be the cop's daughter. In another life... she might have been a cop herself. Thus, she turns partially toward the pair, leaning on the counter, watching, listening... and generally memorizing details as easily as breathing. ---- Actually, Rosewood - or better stems of the wild or dog rose Rosa canina - had been used for arrow shafts from stone ages on, and it made quite good ones within two months. But she had learned that in Myst, not under Olivers eyes. "No, I had learned it myself." That was, until Dinah mentioned the trouble. Robyn went stiff, motionless, the hands twitching a bit. then she lifted the right hand, counting. "The fingers? Training, getting into a fight with Falcones for having to make a stop on the wrong parking where some guy in green lurked, training, doing some crazy shooting from a motorcycle back against Overnerds, training, kicking the KKK's ass, training, getting some arms dealer shot at by someone else with crazy trick arrows and yet again training." Which was pretty much all she had done after getting away from that suicide mission. Then possibly the coin falls a bit too far off. "The eye? Ask Chris King. Oh wait, can't do that anymore, because I put him to justice. He and his friends and father earned it for crimes against womankind. The sheriff? He covered it up and knew it." ---- Dinah slowly looks over to Barbara. So apparently the young Robyn is losing her composure, gladly exposing her own crimes in front of two of Gotham's most skilled crimefighters, one of them who doesn't look even a BIT happy at the whole situation. If Canary had telepathic powers, she would have silenced the young girl, but alas, that's not the super power she was born with. Babs can read on her friend's face the 'Shut up, Robyn!' face, but it's to no avail. When all is said and done, Dinah is looking at Barbara, while talking to Robyn. "Okay. I need you to take a deep breathe and relax. You are more in trouble than you know... so please, stop talking for a minute there, and listen: I want to help you. Barbara wants to help you aswell. But you really have to let us do it. You are not helping your case...", the young woman's fury not completely alien to the Birds of Prey, this intensity not unlike Helena's. "Where are you living now?", Dinah asks, avoiding the subject of the 'man in green', hoping Babs has not heard it. Deep down Canary knows Barbara did, and she knows this is going to bite her in the ass later. ---- See... there's a litany of crimes, flipped off so casually, as if it doesn't matter that men lost their lives. Good, bad, doesn't matter. Due process is important. That's one of Oracle's major rules. So, Dinah would know -- this girl has just pushed all of Barbara's major buttons. So, the look Barbara gives Dinah when Dinah tells Robyn she'll help is sharp and possibly unfriendly. Because, yes. She did hear the piece about the 'man in green'. And she knows full well that half of Dinah's soft spots for these kids stems directly from that infuriating green clad archer. Softly, brows drawn together, she cautions with a simple word: "Dinah..." ---- It's not totally exposing crimes - Robyn thought more that the talk might make the women duck for cover and run. And the list of items between the training did not consist of actually crimes per se. Vigilantism maybe, but no real crime. Barbara might easily remember the mentioning of the KKK - the news had reported that two archers were said to have protected a black harbor pub of a group or those, and that one of them used trick arrows. The Falcone incident had brought quite some contraband into the hand of the police as it had been a weapons deal. But Robyn had more thought that if she would enter a bank with a stringed bow, people would duck for cover and behave, for she could express that vibe of violence and people might know what FBI told about her - her being an erratic violent killer. But Dinah and Babs not even backing away and just talking calming? Either she was in a REALLY bad situation and just met undercover cops or it was even worse heroes that wanted to bust her for what she had done. The inner fight to stay or run was visible on the face clearly, as was the healthy eye darting over the room, the edge of the eye patch changing to a darker hue of black from the sweat they collected. For a split second the blue eye stopped on a set of heavy gardening shears lying on the counter. Very unwieldy, bad to toss. Then they darted to a vase right of Robyn, containing short roses. Much better suited to throw, much less damage if they hit. Seconds passed... Then a name. Dinah. So the blonde was Dinah. What had she done to her? Not more than pressing the right buttons on Robyn. Or the wrong ones, as she was searching for an escape. The answer Robyn gave on the question was more a stare, the single eye narrowed at Dinah, the mouth pressed shut, opening for more a whispered three words. "Under the radar." Which could be pretty anywhere, as it included all of Gotham's cheap 'cash only' motels and abandoned houses as well as the countryside around. Who was the other woman? She had no name on that one - and she seemed pretty displeased... So... WHO the hell she was facing here? ---- If Dinah hadn't know Barbara for so long, if she hadn't danced on the edge of order and chaos with the redhead so many times, if she hadn't shared so many things with the Commissioner’s daughter... she would have shaken in her boots at that simple uttering of her name. She can feel Barbara holding back solely because it's her there, asking her not to. Quite frankly, she would have a hard time arguing Batgirl about this situation: the girl's words are very unsettling. Still, if Ollie has passed any of his habits to Dinah, is the ability to push things to the limit, which includes friendships. Looking at Robyn, and following that eye, Dinah shakes her head "Please don't do anything you'll regret doing.", her voice calm and ALMOST warm: she's worried Barbara's patience will run thin sooner than she will be able to rip something redeemable about Robyn. "I need you to look at me, Robyn." - because looking at the redhead might be unsettling and trigger all kinds of Fight or Flight instincts - "I'm afraid you have reached a crossroad in your life when you walked inside my shop." - and completely throwing caution to the wind, another of Ollie's bad habits, Dinah speaks softly, casually - "My name is Dinah Lance. I am also known as Black Canary. This woman besides me is Comissioner Gordon's daughter." Dinah lets it all sink in before she goes on, trying to look as gentle as possible while she talks about something that might seem positively nightmarish to Robyn. "I cannot let you, in good conscience, continue with what you are doing. This has to stop. Also important is what you are going to do with your life now that you are not 'under the radar' anymore. Running away won't work, we will find you. I will find you. So I will give you other options. One of them is paying for what you did in jail. The other is paying for your crimes..." - Oh boy, Barbara is going to let her have it for this - "... by fighting it the RIGHT way. Not your way. The right way. Please don't try escape, I need you to listen to me. Do you understand how precarious is your position right now?" ---- 'This woman beside me is Commissioner Gordon's daughter.' *le-sigh* Barbara inhales a slow, steadying breath, closing her eyes and rubbing her fingers lightly across her forehead, just above her brows. Internally, she counts. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... Eventually, she'll hit 10. That's when the hand falls away, but her jaw is set and there is tension through her body. She is biting her tongue. Literally. It may start bleeding ere long. But, if she doesn't, she'll rip Dinah a new one right here, right now. And, yes. She's heard about some of the more 'vigilante' crimes, as opposed to bringing Chris King to justice... which is still vigilantism, but perhaps of a more serious sort. She watches Robyn, however. Because if the girl reacts badly and they have to counter her, it's going to get messy... fast. Very fast. ---- Seems really like Robyn hit the crap jackpot. Not only a bloody Cops daughter, the Commisioners kid and a vigilante, that was not known to be kind but leave the criminals pretty beaten up. The odds were really BAD. But on the other hand - she had stood in King John's arena and shot a bullseye, fought with some crazy knight and then started a riot by just calling the townfolk against the cruel imperator and listing his deeds. And getting arrested for execution the next moment. Her luck had struck again it seems. Ok, she had killed the archer fireing squad and thus enflamed the rebellion she had boiled up the day before and killed the tyrant. But here were no people to enrage and no tyrat, but a bloody heroine and the commisioners daughter - and she was unarmed. The face of Robyn goes pale, the breathing slows, steadies, just as if she was waiting for a shot. Slowly she lifts the left hand, rising it to the cover above the destroyed eye in a very slow manner. "Tried that. FBI offered me release if I deal with something - and they screwed me. Called for manhunt." The hand was still midair, reaching for the band that held the black there, wiping away a bead of sweat slowly, carefully assesting the situation. "I don't fight it, I try to keep away from it. It finds me. Just like I hit the Jackpot full of trouble - jet again. But I evaded a fucking Kingdom before." The left index and thumb close around the band holding the eyepatch... ...and Robyn moves suddenly. Ripping the eyepatch off, she not only exposed the firey glowing folden orb but also jumps up and backwards, pulling her feet up and over her head in a backflip. The right hand stretches out to press up the body over a table with flowers on, tossing two buckets aside and spilling the water over the floor. She had done a similar move before, with bound hands to get her shackles cut by an arrow. This time it was just a move to get behind the table, trying to land on the feet... But the water reached it before her, turning it into a tricky terrain, slippery for the liquid and the floweres covering it. If the floor had been dry or sand - the foot would have found very secure footing, but like it was, the right shoe slid away as it touched the ground. The left foot did not bring a better footing, as it crased in too fast, the knee hitting the tile floor and ramming a few rose-thorns through the jeans. The face of Robyn winced, but she tried her best to suppress the sound, dimming it to a half surprised hiss as she eventually ended on the floor... and looked a bit like a dressed version of Pretty woman, as she was covered in roses... ok, maybe not so much, as it were full thorny roses and not just petals. ---- See? See?! This is why they can't have nice things... This is why the store gets trashed so often. Because Dinah just isn't circumspect enough to keep her identity a secret. At least, she didn't introduce Babs as, 'This is Oracle. If anyone can find you under the radar, it's her.' Beause, that'd be worse. Though, the sonic frustration isn't a whole lot better? ---- As the girl rips her eye-patch off, and proceeds to flip back out of the way, Babs is already moving toward the door. So, there's no need for Dinah to pick her up. Though, to be fair, when the sonic wave starts accompanying the frustration in her friend's voice, Babs ducks, more scuttling along the aisle than running. Along the way, even as Robyn is knocking things off shelves and slipping in the water, Babs yanks two narrow sticks -- essentially nothing more than wire covered in plastic, about 1/4" in diameter and 18" long, out of a couple planters. Trained in escrima as she is, Babs doesn't need full, heavy batons for those sticks to be useful to her. So, though they may look very light and very lame in her hands... such may not be the case, if it comes to a showdown. But, truthfully, Babs really doesn't want a showdown. Not today. Not after everything she's been through the night before. Nevertheless, all this puts her between the girl and the exit, which may not be the best plan, but if Dinah's going to insist on this farce, Babs will play her part. Besides... the last thing she needs is a meta running loose down the street and risking harm to more people. She shakes her head to clear the ringing from her own ears, green eyes fiery. She knew this was a bad idea. "Trust me, kid. You will not get a more sympathetic ear anywhere on this planet than you will with Dinah." No, she doesn't include herself in that statement. Babs is quickly losing any sense of sympathy, here. Not that she had much to begin with. "So, either hear her out or get out," and she lays one hand on the door beside her. It remains closed, but she'll happily open it to let the girl leave. It's not like she can't find her later, if she really wants. ---- As if Robyn would be up for a showdown at the moment - she is even in a worse situation than before. On the ground, lying in thorns, knee bent, staring into the hard neon light... All she does in that situation is a groan. Somehow it remembers her of being after that damned car crash... staring up into the blue sky under the sun, then getting yanked up by the hair and... But it was not that scene. She was... on the floor of the Sherwood Florist, this time not moving a bit. The only answer she could give now was... a groan. A damned rose was peeking into her back several times, her ears rung... BAD situation. ---- Dinah looks down at the girl on the floor, and then at Barbara. Robyn seems to have settled down for now. Walking up to the young archer, Dinah kneels besides her, helping the girl to sit down, straighten herself up. She knows Babs is glaring holes through her back, that this is not healthy behavior, but... she has to believe in people like this. If she does so because she wants to believe in Ollie, or if she is with Ollie because that's what she is, Canary doesn't know, and right now, she just wants to help this young woman. "Robyn... look. You have killed people. Yes, they might have been bad people, but you shouldn't have done what you did. The way I see it you have two options, and one of them is jail, like any other criminal. And don't get me wrong, you committed very serious crimes.", and she takes a deep breathe, "But I am also offering to help you. To teach you how to focus this anger, how to overcome it, how to use the skills you obviously have for good. Unless you haven't gotten tired of being angry and alone all the time yet, I am asking you to consider my proposal. I promise you don't have to be by yourself." Dinah speaks things with a growing, sad smile on her face. Although part of this speech reminds Canary of that hopelessly positive outlook she keeps to herself, to her life and her friends', there's also a lot of fond memories that come to her then, the memories of Barbara and Helena paramount amongst them. Once Robyn gets her bearings, Dinah stands, looking at Barbara quite upset at herself. She knows she has just pushed their relationship like Ollie does to theirs, and it doesn't sit well with her. "I'll give you one day to think before I go after you, Robyn." ---- Babs stays right where she is by the door. She lets Dinah be the caring, outreach person, watches her friend do what... well, what she always does. Dinah wouldn't be Dinah if she didn't. Doesn't mean Babs has to like it, however. So, she keeps one hand on the door and her eyes on the situation. ~ Don't mess with her, kid... just don't. ~ ---- Robyn slowly manages to get her back off the ground, looking up to Dinah with both eyes - even if the one is useless. "You don't get it... You think you know. In your head I'm a killer. You're right. I killed the people who raped me and cut out my goddamn eye. I killed the sheriff that let them go even though he knew what they did." She did say that once before, right? Taking a deeper breath she tried to get the right leg under the body too, bringing her to a kneeing situation as she continued "Don't think I don't repay for what I did every night and wonder if I am some sort of psycho. You don't have to tell me that what I did isn't ok. A normal person wouldn't think it's right." There even is a bit of sorrow in those words, but not for the dead ones. One day... Could be enough to get FAR away. Canada had vast woods. Myst was no option - to hard to get there. But would that be enough to outrun the Canary? "Yet... I don't regret it. I've been wondering what that makes me. Not a good person." ---- Dinah listens to Robyn's words, eyes downcast, shaking her head. This girl shouldn't have went through these things, nobody should. As she peers down at the one-eyed blonde, Canary offers her a hand, so Robyn can stand. "You don't have to spend your nights alone, Robyn.", and peering at Barbara, Dinah is clearly trying to scan for any signs of regret after hearing the young archer's words. "We... want to help. I believe in you, Robyn. You are not the worst I have ever seen, thanks to Gotham, but I would love it you could trust me enough to help you." Black Canary almost regrets and backs down on her threat of going after Robyn. Almost. It's now, officially, a bluff, and Barbara can tell these last words have broken Dinah's soft heart. If Robyn is lying, she has Canary wrapped around her finger. ---- Canary might bluff. Oracle doesn't. But, as the girl makes her speech, the redhead's lips thin and her eyes tighten. No. She's not unsympathetic to the girl. That's the reason she hasn't pushed the door open and tossed the kid out onto the street. (Well, that, and it's Canary's shop.) So Dinah will recognize the conflict in Barbara's eyes. She's not happy. She's holding her tongue for the moment, and her position, but she's not happy. ---- Orange roses clinging to her wet clothes, her stuff and arms in a stolen car parked some corners away. Bad situation for Robyn. But on the other hand... An offered one. Could she trust this Dinah enough? She sacrificed her secret identity - if she would use the 24 hours, she could use it to wreck havoc on her for some distraction and a few more hours, but that would be like vindicating a persuader - and very much would piss her off to put in all effort to hunt her down. Even worse, it would give her a reason to do so. Moments passed in which Robyn did not move, but then she took the hand with a slow movement. "Peace for the moment?" ---- Dinah takes the hand after hiding a smile from seeing Barbara's face. It's good to see some doubt there. As she helps Robyn up, the Black Canary just smiles and looks down at the floor. "You are the one doing backflips and hurting yourself, Robyn. I asked you not to do anything drastic, and you ruined yourself and my shop.", she says in a tease. She then looks at Barbara, arching one brow, something that shows Dinah ahs recovered some confidence this might still work alright. "Barbara, let go of those silly 'weapons'. I don't think we will need those anymore.", she says at last, trying to get Babs to relax a bit. ---- Babs smirks softly at Dinah's comment to her, and looks at the cracks in the windows. Evidently, she's going to have to pull some cyberstrings again and get Dinah's credit limit adjusted. She moves clear away from the door, now, and returns the posts to their respective plants, moving back up toward the counter. This deal will need to be worked out between Dinah and Robyn. There's little she can do to help, immediately. And, besides, she's still got a lily plant to pay for. ---- Eventually another name. The Redhead was Barbara, Daughter of the Commissioner... Not the best acquaintance for a convicted criminal really, and if that was Black Canary, the notorious vigilante, Poor Miss Gordon might have as much trouble as Dinah. Eventually standing back on her feet, Robyn plucked a few of the roses from her pullover, glancing over the mess she did. "Sorry for that... Ever tried to do a backflip judging the area with just one eye? Try it and then tell me you landed on both feet when the floor is slick." A few moments she is silent, plucking a few more roses from her clothes eventually searching in the pocket for a few moments. A pair of drenched twenties, a ten and a few quarters come to light as she pulls the hand forth again "That's all I have on me still... I doubt it's enough for the flowers and window, but..." Thinking a bit she ponders about how honest she can be.. tell them about the car? Or just go and get the stuff? "Still owe you one answer, don't I? A Car. Parked it round a few corners, a blue Honda sedan." ---- Dinah listens and watches Robyn taking the money out of her pockets, frowning with a smile. She holds Robyn's hands, closing her fingers around the money. "Keep your money. From now on you can just... work your debt by working here.", she says kindly, knowing fully well that the Sherwood Florisit might have just become the most violent place in the city, with two workers like Helena and Robyn, but still. Working with flowers, having a day job and your own money does wonders to discipline. Not that Dinah would know anything about having her own money, because as of right now, she is BROKE. BROKE like Batman's back a couple of times. "And we will deal with your need to trash places by doing stunts you shouldn't be doing one-eyed later, okay?", she says with a wide smile later, looking at Barbara as she rests a hand on Robyn's shoulder. She's got this under control! "Now go get your things." ---- Barbara resists the urge to *FACEPALM* heavily. It's a very near thing, though. Still. Blue Honda sedan, somewhere in this neighborhood. Something else she can track down, if DELPHI can snag enough replay. This is Dinah's decision, however. Babs doesn't like it, but when has that ever mattered? She leans back against the counter, arms over her chest, chin tucked so that she's looking at the black mats on the floor nearby, red hair and the reflection in her glasses obscuring her face. ---- Probably Dinah might get surprised how calm Robyn can be when she is not under pressure. Working off a debt sounded like... having to work quite some time, as the window, the buckets of flowers... and some other items might pile up to some grand or such. Still better than jail time. "Be right back..." she muttered, tucking the fist into the pocket of the pullover for now. She'd be a liar to tell she had earned the money, because she had taken it from a dealer she had knocked KO. Not something she had done for the first time - as a kid she had stolen from gangers to pay for her mom’s medicine. As she was about to open the door she looked back once. She could flee. Change the cars on some parking lot outside town probably. But... Then she would prove them right. That she was to be chased... Leaving the door Robyn walked the three blocks to her car, thinking about the incident. Taking the chance or continue to run? Either was as good as the other. And then she took her bags, leaving the stolen car open with the keys on the drivers seat as she started to walk back to the Florist. Category:Log